INCEPTION: Operation Alternate
by Aspergian Mind
Summary: HALO/INCEPTION XOver. This war was started by an idea, and it would take another idea to turn it around. Objective: Perform Inception on the Prophets to change the course of the war. But they'll have to break grounds like never before. First Act Only
1. The Dream is Collapsing

INCEPTION – Operation Alternate

By: the Aspergian Mind

Chapter 1 – The Dream is Collapsing

* * *

Tom was our Mark, our ticket out of here to join the rest of the Insurrectionist movement.

We're all that there is of it, a merger band hiding where we're trapped in the system on the planet, but we have the most important weapon that needs to get to command.

It will change the course of the war just as it is going to change our fortunes right now.

I and Point Man, Karl, tried to overwhelm this Tom. I was holding by the collar with my set of hands while Karl used his own to hold the shotgun point-blank.

Not quite working. He is breaking sweat, but resilient enough to look us straight in the eye.

Hope we will break him, deep down within, when we reawaken his trauma. His last job had a perilous encounter with an elite.

"Give me the access codes for clarification." I said firmly, letting go and backing up, leaving him for someone, or something, else.

An elite enters through door, bloodied and war-torn like he'd met the monstrosity version of the species at New Harmony.

"How…?"

"I have my ways. We are after same thing. Now you do it my way."

"You sold us out!"

"No, just your cause, they decide to spare the species and replace the government. You can join ours and live."

The elite came swaggering close to Tom. Something was terrible with its posture. Its walk was that of a tip-toeing human.

"You give me the combination." It huffed, trying very hard to lift him up above his head.

Tom's tense face and stifling breath became relaxed and controlled. The fear eliminated from Tom.

"You can only push it so far." The elite dropped him, huffed again after letting go of a load that was actually strenuous for him to carry.

Bad choice. My desperation is catching up with me to ruin my performance. Sometimes real things in life can seem like you were dreaming as well. This will be the death of me.

There's suddenly a deep rumble sourced from the street 53 floors down, not on just this building but the entire bedrock. The Dreamer is lost.

_What the hell?_ Sid is too professional to fall to something like an old man projection on the street.

I stand right at the window. What's the first to go? It all starts at the base in most buildings; stability is what goes first ahead of the form. But for this pinnacle object as long as a moon's equator, it would be taken out at the top.

Due to the cut off, the counter-weight is lost, and the long, long, long pipe will be wobbling aimlessly unless the whole centrifugal force of planets rotation would send it all falling in an exact easterly direction.

Speaking of…the top. There 'she' is. She always picked the most isolated locations to avoid being spotted for her foreign irregular appearance.

She waves with her even-digit hand. I only see her in the jobs now, my only dreams. Some would worry how their past comes back more literal than ever in this. But some reason I can't fathom she never harmed me.

Though it was not to last when her gaze look beyond me, beyond the building.

…And there it is. That space elevator, one hundred miles of a single shaft, come crashing down laying. The thickness alone is taller than any buildings here.

Once its flimsy form lies where it could stay indefinitely, a tidal wave of rubble buries the city. I still see it laid to rest on such a tiny city-lot compared to it.

And the whole city blocks become dominoes and the sky is encompassed by a tsunami of ash.

The target building has been collapsing; I have forgotten being surrounded by larger happenings. And the residue of the lower levels being crushed –one, two, and three— sent up in a major waft up to me.

And not to mention this bomb in my trench coat that I haven't gotten to use yet.

The bomb, the shotgun, jump, or be crushed.

Four options out; all painless.

* * *

Awake it's all a blur. It's kind of like a hospital experience. To have conveniently snap out when it'd collapsed and wake up lying in bed. Though there's no pain as I groggily get

Overlapping conversations take place from above, though it ain't the doctors. And this ain't a hospital; it's a shack small enough for civilian warthog.

"How did they get to you?" Karl pushes Sid.

"It wasn't the projections. We had an intervention, from outside the box."

"So the rumors are true. They are going telepathic with this technology too. We lost the edge, thanks to you." Karl points his finger as strenuous as possible to the guilty party, me.

I get up from my chair cut in-between the two to get the table. "Anyway, nice walking. Little less like high heels would have done it."

"Look, my only physical reference close to the anatomy of an elite was that brunette prostitute with highest heels two jobs ago." Cobb Kawski explains. "Not to mention its just appearance, not strength." Reenacting his strangling with his arms.

I have my totem; a top to a salt shaker. Under worst circumstances would be more needed, but it becomes a habit to do it no matter. Shifts uniquely to the appendage I placed inside when I flip it. No one knows it other than me.

She's not real. I know it, because it could not have ever come true.

Peeking outside through the slits of the shutters I see a full dozen ODST on the south side. And to the horizon, the cityscape on the southwest and the light strobes from the space elevator to the southeast, all intact.

Surrounded. Reality has finally caught up with us. Thank you!

* * *

A/N: So ends the first chapter of my Inception/Halo crossover. This story version you read here is something called "Scanning the First Act." You'll find out how much you will be shown to read.

If you're interested, you could read it again and this time, play the Inception soundtrack with it. You know which song it is.


	2. First Job's the Ultimate Job

Ch. 2 – First Job's the Ultimate Job

* * *

2540

The Insurrection and the United Nations; I've been an important asset that both sides see value of. I'm worth the cost of a thousand men, for I can change the fate of a million men. But in this new form of combat humanity faces greater forces beyond us, he must fight for his own place in the galaxy.

The power of the Insurgents are shrinking due to the reality of a fact that there is a greater threat that we must unite to survive. So what's the point now? That's nothing I really ask myself personally, I was never a true member. I was under impressment as the British would call it.

With less going around, contained with few of you inside, it would give you a lot to look over from within a tainted glass cell. Nothing much else other than a table, four chairs and three others, Karl, Sid, and Cobb in here with me. Though the those ODSTs are sharing this room just out of reach of the one source of light coming from our glass jar.

It's going to be a temporary stay in this cell since I feel like this is going to be a proposition. And I am going to agree with it.

"Getting desperate aren't you?" Tony enters the light, voice echoes the chamber. "You no longer can reach the top minds protected. You just get codes from who ever now. What was he? Level one?"

"You have your minions that know a little bit of something that leads to the top of the pyramid. We were starting at the base." Karl explains.

I didn't feel like responding to anything. I'm at the closing stages of clarifying my divided mind. Karl was doing the talking for me, his mind made up not quiting. Cobb and Sid just sit aside, knowing that Karl doesn't like opinions that get in his way.

"Trying to get out to join among your Insurgents out there. Well those troubles are behind us. SPARTAN-II Blue Team has taken care of the United Rebel front in Micronesia. Other groups have converted."

"More like subjugated."

"Or finally seeing we have greater concerns that affect the both of us. We are fed up with your cause. You make demands and threats while there a bigger things happening than just us. You've now become the kid who wants his car while his parents are handling financial meltdown."

"You could have done better if I wasn't taken." I inserted in. "I could have tried for the other four years on Harvest."

"Shut up." Karl, running the jobs, runs the things said.

"I'd like to hear him." Tony turns his attention to me now. "You're a very interesting person, who knows how to hit people the hardest, in their minds." "You had your break-through in Harvest, then you 'semi-volunteered' for the Innie movement, and left half of your work behind intentionally."

"What ever you describe him then is not him now."

"I already know that, in fact I already questioned his royalities more than his sanity back after the 'Campaign.' Iusually label the root of illness on their obession. Yours being dream-sharing, I'd say you seem to have gotten Incepted and Extracted, both." Luckily, the gensis of an idea can be destroyed when one realizes it is not his own...eventually.

Whatever case they hypothesize, their minds wouldn't dream of what happened on Harvest. My first trials on trying to understand the enemy. I having done everything to try to invade their minds, and it back-fired, almost to the point of disaster, because of her, the angel and devil.

"What my past may have been, doesn't matter. I'm glad that the delay is ended, right now what matters is that I take the assignment."

"We'll give you a new line of work unlike anything."

"What?" I knew already what, it's going to be doing it all over again.

"Inception." He proposes with a glow of interest in the challenging.

"Harder and more articulate, but nothing new."

"It's not the job but the target."

"Who? The Prophets?"

Nods.

"What, you never tried it yet?"

"You had at least. Never has such an ideal opportunity risen since Harvest, not until now. Not on such a location on such a high ranking target. The Prophets, as well as the High Council, are planning to gather on planet. It's a new discovery that we ourselves made just three years ago. Whatever reason they go there, I know, but fill you in on details later, it has highest significance to do with the Forerunners. There you'll change their minds completely and it'll be the end of the war for us."

"First job you're assigning us is the ultimate job already?"

* * *

Dinner at a fine restaurant at this large hotel was rather delicious after contrary surroundings. Odd that the interrogation was down in that empty block at Lower Main. Explains the fine lobster they gave us when first entering the cell.

Karl sits with me while Cobb and Sid have their own table.

"This is unimaginable." Karl

"We're doing what we've always done."

"I'm talking about the Innie's discontinuation."

"Is that all that concerns you?"

"Look, the only way were going to fight this threat is through proper leadership."

"No, it doesn't matter who sits at the throne in war, it matters that men despite of differences stand together to face what concerns all. We can't argue how humanity is running when it's on the brink."

"Right, I knew all along that you would turn the minute the UNSC find you again."

"They found you. It was you who failed to keep what you Extracted."

"Anyway, speaking about this mission, I have the same opinion. Unfeasible to do it on a totally different target and by other means that when I –the Point Man- add it all together would add it to unaccomplishable."

"Getting through to you, as my employer, has been unaccomplishable."

* * *

A/N: Usually I worry about the lack of detail while writing, but not here. Cutting to chase, that's what I'm doing in this case.


	3. Assembling

Ch. 3 – Assembling

A/N: Got to learn to control myself to not get too detailed. If there's grammatic errors, so be it.

* * *

_"Frederick."_

The ultimate symptom of dream-sharing is that it sucks the essence out of you to where the Dream Machine becomes the supplement, no longer an enhancer.

You sleep and then you wake, no fantasia visons of the regular, nothing like premonitions, or anything that entertains your mind while the body sleeps. These blanks that make a quarter of my daily life can be linger for eternity or be gone a second.

I can't go in, for I know that all the dream would be is what my subconscious is full of. Her. But yet, she hasn't harmed me, though she has kept at a distance the whole time, avoiding all others my kind.

First to enter back in are memories. All highlights that lay the course of my life from being dreams to being determinedly cemented. Why are they so full of her? I guess I have a reputation for finding the opposite sex already a entirely different universe.

I groggily crawl out of my bed, abandoning my inducing portal to an abyss is the best relief I have.

That day she pronounced my name, after learning it English to so I'd understand, in a sympathetic, loving matter was an unexpected highlight that erodes over time, but still so prominent.

...like something from a half-remembered dream.

* * *

Morning. My hotel room was a luxury right next to the terminal. Breakfast would be served on board our flight.

Sid stands looking at window looking at the take-offs, Cobb is seated nervously while I'm circling around the table waiting for Karl. He's great what he does, but detailed oriented and his job is always about articulating infinity without exactness.

"I'll do better next time. Just need to practice and be used where my flaws are the least glaring."

"In time you'll seamlessly be unalienated to even an alien."

Finally Karl shows up.

"Not going to run?"

"No, I have a position to maintain. And I'll keep at it whether its commies, fascists, democrats or republicans, I chose." Get's confusing whether he means more to his job or his royalties.

* * *

Out of the subway there's Concourse G, and there stands Tony out at the main lobby.

"Hypothesizing the plan fairly well?"

"Getting there. If we're going to incept the minds of a Prophets, not only do we need pick the right mind, we also need enough men, and flexibility that hasn't been really tested enough." Unconsciously my voice has gotten a bit more stressed. "What you're asking me is to invade a mind, with too scarce of information, and an alien mind who has a totally different construct. This is going to take weeks, to think how I can do it with every once of information that I need to make this efficient."

"I've gotten everything on the ship already."

"Oh, thank you. That was more than I expected. But still, if we are leaving immediately and the Covenant are just about going to arrive as we are, where's the time I'm gonna need?"

"Not in the coolers. We'll stay awake the whole trip."

Cobb asks. "What about oxygen and all other provisions that are limited to extensive travel?"

"Ship and crew?" Frederick adds on. "Oh, and also team available?"

"Lightly armored civilian cruiser, carries 500. Our personnel will be 100, 50 pilots and 50 are my best in the business ready to serve."

"So you had everything set, you just were looking for me need my brains to drive the whole thing."

"Hm-Hmm."

"Well then sorry I was difficult to find, we're cutting it close."

"The one responsible is just like his political believes: An encumbrance."

"But that still leaves me with restricted assets. We don't know if we have what we need."

"We just have to find out and see. I'm as much apart of this as you and I don't see it favorable that I return, but I'm willing to take a leap of faith."

As we walk down the main hall, I was leading with , while the others were behind with Karl in the rear like he always does.

"How open are you to people?"

"Not particularly on average, and I like keeping my secrets."

"Because I would like to have unlimited access restricted to you and not your team."

"This is about Karl, right?"

"I figured he especially has loyalties beyond just his profession."

* * *

Karl was gathering his pace, but luckily we just reached the end of the hall.

"So, let's introduce our team to you."

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've found our leader."

"About time!" One shouted from the rear. An anxious one no doubt for having to search for nearly a year just for me.

There was a band of 50 men and women. Half are ODST, the ones from before. The others are more individualized and less decorated. Some of them looked to be seventy, for being in their business all their life, and some look like high school students, prodigies no doubt that had chosen their career well in advance.

Whether they'll be eligible I'll find out. Karl wastes no time doing it all in one glance hiking up and down the columns, 5 by 10, and back to me.

"I don't like them."

"Apologies to my companion, he's always disallowing."

"As you were, but you," Pointing what I guessed correctly was the Chemist ",take us to your quarters."

* * *

Chemist's name is Yohan. They have just one working with us, but he's great I can tell. Sid could learn appropriately from him.

Sid shakes his hand. "You must have been the one who intervene my last job." It seems no doubt it would start with a bit of competitiveness.

"Correct. Following what work he left behind."

"How long did it take you to decode the thing?"

"Up until last year and still want to learn what's in your head that you haven't burned." He mischievously smiles.

"Anyway since we are working for one another now, let's get to business." I courteously clear my throat. "I'll plan to use all 50 men."

Sid brought the one I was using. Standard with a maximum 12 lines.

"How many levels?" I do at least have a solid fact of one of the species.

"I was thinking down to Limbo…"

* * *

"I'm going to need access to all information known about the Forerunners. Even entries of what the Covenant mentioned especially."

"Like I said, I open you to unlimited access. If it's any about the Forerunners you're missing, take that up to our Architect."

I look through her resume. A leading expert in ForeRunner Archeology, blank nothing on dream-sharing. "She's archaeologist, but just as perfect."

...

"I only study what's left, not create."

"But you understand these extinct beings unlike anybody I'm sure. You know much of nature on why they are as they are."

"But I can't really conjure up what's not there. I'm only the best at seeing what is physically there. I can't see it all.

I'm not convinced by her self-restraint. "Don't worry, the mind uses itself more than you. Ever get the feeling that you just know things? Ever feel those moments when what you put into your thoughts somehow creates itself?"

* * *

...Then a 7 foot-tall somebody walks in with one-of-a-kind MJOLNIR armor. Carrying a grenade launcher that would require all the strength of both hands is lifted with ease on his right.

It all adds up to a one-of-a-kind soldier.

"A Spartan?"

"Spartan-III." His eyes look over my head. I turn to be startled that another is right behind me. "Two I selected; That's Eames-I528 and this is Aurthur-I491. No suicide mission is complete without one."

"The entire plan is infitration. I don't want team members who do the opposite to ruin it."

"Don't worry, unlike the Spartan-II we trained them more for strategy and tactics than brute strength. Speaking of strategy, will this one have a contingency plan?"

"Not expecting one." To enter a rework a mind is a single defining moment, no error. We all had something like that at birth, and there was no recall. "We only have one shot and the course of the bullet we'll have to improvise."

"Ahem." A loud voice speaks overhead. "Aren't you forgetting someone?"

Then appears a brilliant blue hologram of a woman, dressed in a flowing Greek robe.

"Oh, and this is our A.I. for the trip. My personal friend, Ariadne."

* * *

A/N: It was only once that I posted Chapter 2 did I remember that I should put my leading characters name. Then I realized it would work perfectly on the opening for Chapter 3.

This no doubt has more words than ever, so I must learn to cut back. Detailing things is quite frustrating for me, and I don't want to go through so much trouble on a "Scanning First Act."


	4. Creating the Dreamworld

Ch. 4 – Creating the Dreamworld

A/N: Whizzing by. I don't want to go into too much detail, it's more idea oriented. Sorry if at times, you have no idea who is saying what, I'm not so concerned who out of the team of 50, other than the few I named so far, are saying just so long I get the most resilient parasite across; an idea.

* * *

Next morning. I jump out of bed in an instance and make my first thoughts be the mission. _I'll show her. _

Yohan enters my dorm room. "Sorry to interrupt, Frederick."

I was already gathering my stuff. "Don't worry, I'm free to interruption by anybody, but Karl."

"The version I have is just to penetrate into an existing dream, I haven't figured out to make a dream in a undisturbed subconscious."

"You still haven't figured that out?"

"It was the harder part to decode. You know what I believe why I couldn't."

"What?"

"I figured you unwittingly make it harder so it'll be easier to forget and harder to resurface. All lot bad things started in Harvest, I know. That place itself is Inception of the War."

* * *

First meeting with the band. I've opened a rough plan I have in mind, lay out what I could conjure up, and lay it open for them to criticize. Correction can't be without criticism.

"What would we do for references? We have no solid information of what they'll meet on the other side to make an entire dreamscape."

The youngest one, still a bit reliant on drawing from stuff you know.

"Forerunners. They idolize them as gods. We can make a dream set within these relics where they're going. They're dependence and commitment to them will be altered when we show them 'our' version of the 'truth.' That's why we have Ann the archaeologist to be the leader of the architecting."

"Problem is still they know more about them than we do. About they're millennium of history is all about learning and following their footsteps. We don't have much to go on having the least of information gather for a century or few. So how do you have your catharsis without depth of the issue?"

"Alright, we'll do it after the ceremony. Make it a literally a dream. Still we can hide the fact that we'd invaded." I corrected. "As for the host, since we can't induce the mark and hook him up, we have to penetrate like a mental bullet to knock him out."

"How can we induce a mind into lucid dream-sharing without chemical interference?"

"Well we know something about the physics of telepathy." Yohan is leading up to.

"Energy levels and the use of energy do affect sleep. Know how hard work, or specifically a punch leads to passing out. Force can cause sleep."

* * *

"His mind despite his importance, wouldn't be trained to defend subconscious invasion?" Arthur speaks for the combatants we have here.

"They wouldn't have the technology, would they?" Another asked.

"Nope they would have used that to evade the Cole Protocol by now."

"He wouldn't need to defend, the Mark will fill in the dream with his subconscious. It can be anybody, everybody that would oppose us be put there."

"Yes. And to add further is that this small team is going to make these dreams for either one of these Prophets to fill in their subconscious. That would make their projections be the occupants of their world. So they bring their army there, wouldn't that be the projection population of the dream we invade. We are going to fight armies when we disrupt the dreamscape or the subject."

"That brings to question, if we are to blend in how can we look like the Covenant?"

"Time to learn forgery." Cobb notifies.

"Could we blend in with the projections? Since we can't be them one hundred percent, we choice low-profile positions to seem less atypical."

"Great so our necks hang into balance how good we look." Eames says. "Or the entire mob would lynch the misfits and outcasts."

_Maybe that's what happened to her. No doubt._

* * *

"Where would be our base of operations?"

The Archaeologist, Ann, speaks. "We are going to divide it. First level since it would adjusting to the life of the Covenant. We'll make it an infirmary strictly one room for all of us."

"Deeper down as we go after the target and play our roles. Ones who would have to perform the roles are assigned to rooms automatically."

"Wait if I'm going to be an elite, then I would have to be getting my weapons from their armory?" Cobb asks worryingly.

"Don't worry that won't be until the second level. First is blending in, finding the gaps, learning from the inside, then move in."

"How long do we have to wait until we can go down?" Karl asks. He's been really quite lately.

"Got to make it less than a week before the timer's up." Yohan says.

"I don't see how we can mentally survive being alien surrounded by aliens."

"Yeah, I know that, we need analyze to find what we don't know. The second half of the plan I can't make until we have solid information that we can't be sure of until we're inside." I said.

...

"Whose been to Harvest and this list of planets?"

"Why all these planets?"

"Harvest is the beginning of the war. And all these, are the biggest battles. All these strategies the Covenant made I've theorized with Ann, the Forerunner archaeologist, are based on the relics. Many we didn't know until they arrive."

"Ohh." Yohan says with doubt. Always had these dreamscapes been based on a single planet, that's enough already we make new planets at new levels, but this job would require traveling to multiple dream planets deepest down.

…...

"Essence of time is equivalent to depth of the issue, we must look at the depth and length of the war on how it impacts the Covenant. So we will venture into the origin of first contact. Harvest."

"We mustn't venture too far from present time. Though the dreamer may wake up in the middle of totally different place, he still has relevance on who he is. Put someone back so far would question not only his appearance should they age significantly, but the placement of memories and experience of his past would be his yet to have happened future."

"Reroute that as premonition."

* * *

Ann needs more work on the maze. Eames and Arthur we can't afford to make them the dreamer and leave one of them behind, but they still need to know every detail to stay ahead of the infinite army.

"The more complex the maze the harder it would be for the projections to track and locate us. They're like AI, drawn by universal objectives that specifically relate to the dreamer. Their performance and behavior is based off their knowledge of the person coming more 2 dimensional than one with the projections."

* * *

"Like using extraction or inception to perform corporate espionage, we'll like to know what's in their minds. Other than the fact they are going there, I'd like to know why?"

They tell him. "This planet has been found soon after the battle of Kholo. We have a strategy formed that whatever the Covenant find we follow to find out what's important.

"Kholo fell a full year ago. Why didn't Covenant even touched this place?"

"This is significant enough to have the news spread over the entire Covenant Empire so as to have their souls…" Ann tries to find the right words. "Ready for the next step in this Great Journey."

Or more smaller words. Anyway, "So they come here for something significant and prominent. This significant something will be the area for catharsis."

"There is where you'd want. A massive crater is examined to be remnants of relic."

A huge circle of significantly volcanic, igneous rock. There are seven mounds with even darker rock that may of hinted those were hardest hit.

"What was it that destroyed it, a donut shaped asteroid?" I suggested humorously.

"From what I can tell they destroyed the outer workings, seven of them, while the center must have been disposed of more delicately, or even preserved."

...

I walked out, calling it a day, when I see down one end of a hall, all to familiar figure just turned the corner.

Karl.

* * *

A/N: Why Kholo? Because of "The Return;" I've watched the animated comic version. And the ending of that seems like a fragment of a bigger whole of what would come later in the Halo universe.

I know it jumps around a lot to where it's really choppy pacing and editing, but again, I want to keep going.


	5. Success Only Through the Impossible

Ch. 5 – Success Only Through the Impossible

A/N: Again a lack of indication who's saying what. I do apologize but I'm more focused on telling the ideas and not naming all those members of the team except the few already. Karl, Cobb, Frederick, Ann, Sid, Yohan, Tony, Eames-I528, Aurthur-I491, and AI Ariadne are the names I have, you pick who says what other than the 90 undistinguished others.

* * *

Oddly I feel freer than ever. I've never got to speak more openly and be more to myself than ever. All because Karl is no longer my boss. But still he has a strange new pattern of behavior to listen to everything as much as he can. Few times going to more restrictive corners.

All I can do is wait to see things unfold before my eyes. Like this mission.

I see that there's no back-up plan, but still I must have guarantee success no matter what. The importance of this upcoming event makes it that this can be executed only once. But I need to do what I can make this once happen.

What's the point of preserving ammunition if return enemy fire is just going to kill you? You could have killed the enemy if we just used it all unhesitatingly.

Need to make some drastic changes. Expand our options, cover the most ground to ensure great effect even with 90 percent failure. We need more than one to change the course of their civilization.

* * *

Cobb Kawskiwalks side-by-side with the Archaeologist Ann.

"So how can a person who's obsessed with people be such a loner?"

"I've grown up more an observer of humans socializing than a participant."

"Wouldn't you be a part of a conversation when you forge?"

"Not if it that's someone else. It's the person's dignity not mine."

"So you have no barrier to protect yourself from me?"

Cobb nervously smiles.

* * *

I enter as everyone specifies the details of their plan, while the soldiers watch and listen intently. Naturally they're trained to follow not really offer their opinions.

"Purpose of the war is to eliminate humans. We must find the purpose, the ultimate meaning of it all and turn it around."

"Somehow we're apart of the equation that needs elimination in this ultimate campaign of the Covenant: The Great Journey."

"Inception would not only mean the depth of where we plant it but simplicity to the most powerful form."

"Like through all the politics, the battles, the social, there's a single emotion hidden in it. This could be wrapped up into a single sentence to explain that emotion. Change just one word, and it'll have a new meaning."

...

"Maybe it's denial. The Prophets can't accept a truth and they chose genocide as the solution."

"We'll make it a horrible revelation so it'll be nihilistic in nature. Saps moral, grinds progress to a halt, and be self-destructive." Karl devilishly suggests.

"No, no, no. A Positive emotion trumps negative emotion almost entirely. We need something that grows and flourishes more rapidly."

"Not to mention, we'd like to have the idea of trade we proposed on Harvest open again." No laughs from the one's sarcastic joke.

"'I realize now that instead of eliminating contraries to the belief, I should add to enrich it.'" Aurthur rehearses. "In this day, religions have used science more than ever to explain their religion and the existence of god."

Time for my entry. "No, that won't do it. It also must depend on which certain Prophet. Who's in charge and what's their sense of duty?"

"To turn this war around like it did it had one person to pull the trigger. We need to get that to turn it around."

"Though consider it took everyone to follow the act; we need assurance everyone would follow the reverse. The way the war started was them following tradition like always, with the acceptance of our membership into the Covenant denied as a exception." I read from a de-classified file. To a selective few that is.

"Right so it'll be harder to reverse the course, since this one is following the will of their gods."

"There's reevaluation or reformation. Like the Reformation Era in 15th and 16th century Europe."

"Well that brought division. It would rupture the Covenant within, breaking it in half, but how would that effect us?"

"One side or neither would make peace with us, but that wouldn't be a bother since their concerns would become each other."

"But the goal is to turn their opinions on us so the whole issue of the Covenant is not how they think they worship so much as to how they view humanity in the equation." I said.

"Well it's either going to turn the whole thing unanimously around or divide it, which is it?" Sid asks.

"I'm open to either." Eamessays. "But that's not so much of an issue as is time. We're heading into the later half of the war. We burnt half our fuel to stop it and are left with half to hold off."

"If I judge correctly the spreading of the idea from a group of similar interest is faster than one single idealist. Just change one Prophet's mind would have him label him a defect and dethroned. So it'd really spring should all of them have it at once. Ladies and Gentlemen, we got to do them all." I declare finally.

"Wait, are you proposing we split up?" Ariadne spits out.

* * *

A/N: Every round it's them realizing they have to break into new territory.


	6. Breaking and Entering Foreign Territory

Ch. 6 - Breaking and Entering into Foreign Territory

* * *

"Telepathy is not a problem, Frederick. Isn't dream-sharing telepathic in its nature?" Yohan trying to picture my new concept.

"Yeah, it can be done wireless now, but to an extent only. You are still not creating the picture. Even if we had multiple targets it's still sharing one dream. I'm talking about having two dreams and being able to cross in between."

"What?"

"We need to do dream exchanges. Not only to use a person's subconscious to penetrate into a dream world, but take another person if not a dream world and put it into another."

A long pause to soak it in.

"Why?"

"Each Prophet and Councilor are going to have his unique history. In our previous cases, it has been all Marks in one dream having had a close, close relationship strictly within the span of their careers, that's only how far we have taken Inceptions in one dream at one level. I'm talking about we put them 'all' in the same dream first level, but at each level we divide in groups and conquer, but to secure success we must know everyone's progress.

"Would I know if I'm going for the right plan at the right target if the real one is at another dream? We need communication and connections to be up always, always. It's knowledge and communication that has stumbled the Covenant from conquering faster."

* * *

Sid's turn. "What part of telepathy haven't we entered yet? We -he- now can do penetrations." Sid says pointing out Yohan's excellent, but limited knowledge.

"Exchanges. We have little idea which Prophet or Councilor would be the best, so we'll search them all on the first level, do a smaller form of Inception, then move to the most important figures deeper."

"You're talking about the 50 of us having to invade over 200 prophets and councilors. Usually the advantage of invasion is numeral superiority." I give him a puzzled look, he saw that he needed to correct himself. "I mean the number of Marks, not...all those projections."

"No, no, we don't have to do it individually, we can put them in at groups at a time. We could have 5 of us in a same dream with 20 of them, we just need to widen our time margin in the first layers before going in."

"We all have these people that are needed to work inside one mind, we can't spread out so much that we'll have one or none in almost all them."

* * *

Spartans' turn. Got to trust warriors for more than just shooting guns, but handling them so well as to know when and where is the perfect time and place. One thing a solider likes to be is well supplied, and to be well supplied we need a right location for a base.

"If we're going to do this exchange thing, we're going to have to reorganize our base of operations. This time something they would never enter into."

"How about those 'No Entry' or 'Forbidden Zones?'" Aurthur suggests.

"No, those would be the first places where they would hide their secrets."

Eames offers his. "Prison is the best, belongs to humans anyway, if they're what's needed to activate relics."

"But it could be another location to store secrets."

"Unless he wants to separate the secret and the truth as far away as possible he'd make a prison a last option."

"One should check the security and surveillance in that area alone."

"Though blocking security would alert the projections." I said.

"Remember old school. The best kind of assurance is not destroying the system but mask it with picture of safeguard." Eames flips a photo in his hand and holds it up towards a corner in the ceiling.

* * *

"A travel between subconscious and another would take a millisecond, hence we're doing it from orbit. But there's a certain solidity we want to keep in dreams, and it's just going to get harder when we go deeper."

"Lessen the exchanges per level? Then we should make each trip have a bigger load then." Karl insists.

Yohan comes in with a refreshed sense of confidence. "So we are to have these portals. Two rooms, and both sides, are to be identical in architecture so the transition is more seamless. Air ducts is what they'll be. They're long and simple detailed. I've designed the air duct system so that you can use it both ways, to infiltrate within the dream and exchange. You'll see the signs inside. Though we like it to be restricted to be only used in the prison cell."

I pat Yohan on the back. "Great job. Luckily, we also still have all these subjects have identical dreams."

"Though we have to warn you that coming out into a new dream you'll enter just as you've exited, but the projections would be different. And the deeper we go the more unique and independent they'll be."

…

"What if not all of us can successfully forge Covenant identities?"

Brainstorming. Everybody is brainstorming to fill in the gaps.

"One of us can be the human prisoners. We are needed to turn on the artifacts. Should things get interesting, it'd be something to engage their reaction towards. "

"Put our Marks into our bases?"

* * *

"About those 'memories' we are suppose to put them back in? If we follow them like Group A and Group B, suppose the dreamers mix in together unintentionally then by our choosing?"

"Portals by their nature would still be able to cross planets as it does enter alternates of the same map." Yohan points in us in assuring direction that surly we're figuring out those deadly obstructions

"There's summoning locations in your dreams. You're there from the instance you tell yourself for how the mind has recorded it and plays back recordings."

"That's different, the brain is right next to you. We're talking about penetrating a mind that we don't know where from long distances without connections or lines, just telepathy."

It's tedious when we got to always reroute to basics to know what the hell we're doing so far out of the manual. Not so different on Harvest, when I was breaking rules, showing the human worlds and it's wonders to _'her'_ without knowing where they are. Though she later she sees my dreams as an opportunity to kill us than my version of showing that we humans deserve to live and be at peace with them. Damn _'her.'_

* * *

"Oh, that Frederick. How can we put so much faith into a defected Innie who's mind who's no better mapped than this plan?"

"He's done it before. On Harvest." Cobb declares. Ann needs to know.

"What did he do on Harvest?"

"I don't know, he never says. Just gives us the logs and tells me to find out myself."

"Someone has got to figure it out." Looks at Ann. "You..."

"Why me?"

"Because you're being the closet to him now. Even me. Tries to guide you as much as he can on your architecting. Make an harmless question surrounding that even."

* * *

"Do tell me, what happened at Harvest?" Ann finally asks.

I suggest I tell the undeniable facts that were documented, plus some shaded sides that are only known by me now.

"When we made first contact at Harvest, ONI brought in every top intelligence in all fields of science imaginable to examine real, actual, physical intelligences from another place finally. It was thrilling at first, though almost instantly it became war, then it was terrifying. Upon the declaration, there were messengers sent to ask for peace and trade. When it was rejected, we sent sent ourselves to figure out why.

"I was included in as to learn them through the subconscious. We even offered ourselves to be examined, so they think they'll know our anatomic weaknesses. That was before the COLE Protocol though we weren't that loose-lipped even to reveal a location that is. I tried to see if we could invade the mind even then to turn the war around.

"Though we failed and was no doubt intended wanted genocide for some glaring reason. We try to get out, most of us did, now I'm the last one to tell."

"Did you show them the dream machine?"

"No." I lied. _Just one._

I see Ann is perplexed now, contemplating my story of the past connecting to this current one. So I figured to give another fact. More ironic with a sense of humor.

"You know they cancelled a lot of feminist movements in the Covenant. Once they saw how even more ahead we are than they, they labeled it as an unearthed new form of heresy. I could have gone more in depth in explaining our sex lives to where it would have _really_ frustrated them."

I gave a fake laugh. Ill-effect. Damn _'her.'_

* * *

A/N: You can tell I'm kind of getting a bit desperate on getting this done. The more details I make or corrections the more frustrated I feel that I might have to deeper detail. Some of the times I lay out my exact feelings of the chapters right in there. I guess Frederick is me.

I have too many stories shelved that I want unshelved.


	7. Alien Mind Mechanics

Ch. 7 – Alien Mind Mechanics

* * *

Living does not go off and on. You still are breathing and your mind thinks ceaselessly taking in the universe and fuels the brain.

What would the brain do when the eyes close? It plays, something we remember, or forgot, or things we suspect we never had seen. It has gathered now it plays like aura in a dormant head. That's why we yearn for dreams. All that would be possible for me if I'd not need a portal.

I stare at the Dream Machine, now my only key to the subconscious. I want to see such things that wouldn't exist. Either it be images of hope or peace or...love. 'She' had all that back at Harvest.

The truth will set me free. See it and figure out.

Plug line into the wrist.

_Oh, dear..._

_"Frederick?"_

* * *

Frederick sits slacked and exhausted in the back while Cobb needs this addressed to the whole team, for infiltration to succeed it requires a convincing identity.

"Physical Shifting is a whole new front. To those who've done dream-sharing have done shape-shifting beyond a human form, raise your hand."

No one.

He continues. "The human functions of the body are due to us always in a fixed form, design. It's like a patient who can feel as if he's twiddling his fingers even after he lost his hand. It was because he had that hand, was born and designed to have that certain limb.

"Changing the form would alter the workings of the nerve workings. As an elite, you find it weird to figure out where is the fifth finger you're so use to having.

"When you do change into a different species, it's not just about how you look it in the mirror, it'll influence you physically. Like an instant malformation. The part I can best explain is the feet. Imagine if your metatarsals have suddenly gotten as long as the leg.

"Strength, I might add, is something I haven't figured out. I gotten to look like an elite before, but didn't get the strength.

"Like features, the brain adjust to so are the muscles to new forms. Find your feet feeling rather springy than ever. May sound fun, but not till after months of adjusting to the pain of adjustments."

Pause. Enough suspense built, let's do it actually. "Alright, I can't explain away as though hearing me counts as experience points. Let's dive in." He turns to Frederick. "Would care to join us?"

If they are going into the elite disguise then she would perfectly able to slip through now my crew being them.

"No." Distressful and grim it uttered out from Frederick's lips.

_Truth will be now she will follow me in the mission. Should have known all along._

* * *

"They're all aliens. We know nothing about the aliens chemistry, foundation of their minds. What if the dosage we plant him with on penetration would no more than make him yawn?"

"We have experimented on animals before, but being not as sentient, there's not too much to explore now."

"And do consider source."

"We and dogs, cats, etc. have all originated from the same planet and are based on one element, carbon. These species, which ever we invade, are from another planet based on a different element. We don't know the stability of two different articulated minds in it."

…

"We make, he populates. How he interacts would be like landing on a newly captured planet."

"Can a dead brain do any good?"

"We in fact have a individual specimen of each, and extras of the more numerous species." The neurologist rolls out a dead male San 'Shyuum. "He's the rarest species to come by."

"Where did you get that?" Sid says bewildered. No one would have ever gotten close to those ever being the primal leadership hidden deep within Covenant space.

"Earliest in the war, back when the Covenant weren't fully aware with our tactics."

Already dissected over the years, they unfold the flaps of the already cleaved skin and layers of brain tissue till they find the thalamus and the hypothalamus.

"See that there triggers the sleep mechanism, identical to others." The neurologist points with his long silver"Just like lungs needed for breathing."

"Well, each lung takes in different gases. What chemical balances are needed to hit sleep and also illustrate the dream?"

"Since your assignment is specific on the dreams we need to get deeper to the Reticular Activating System."

They stood silent for a while, having a little unpleasant thought run through their minds. "Do have a bit of Frankenstein's blood in you?"

* * *

A man comes in "Seriously, I need some help here. In my days of play writing, I assign a person with certain history, personality, and characteristics while I have a character of my own. See I create dialogue based on spontaneous interaction, for to pursue the realist of dialogue, I take the author out as much as possible."

"Okay."

"Alright, being the one studying the Prophets most of all, you be in their shows for a while now, okay? As I said about spontaneous-ness, it's closer to real."

"Have you acted any roles being a leader?"

"I once was the title role in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar."

...

"Just as I thought, 'that would be heresy.' You take it up to him. And here's the transcript."

* * *

"I can do it. Let me be an Honor Guard member. I can closely examine the Prophets and Councilors from there."

"We'll spend day in the dream to even more intimately examine them, and then move in."

"How can we hide in there for a day?"

"Do nothing, nothing to disrupt the tranquil state and make the projections look for a dreamer."

"You know that middle-happening in dreams, never knowing the beginning? What if it doesn't work for them?"

"We'll start it right when we penetrate. So he'll feel like he's never fallen asleep on the first level. Need to delude that he's still continuing on his journey into finding what's in the relic."

* * *

Cobb has been acting his best today, feeling like the kind of teacher who learns from his students.

"...While Frederick has been having a horrible day." Ann says walking next to Cobb. "Like he had a nightmare."

"Then it's all the worse since he says he never dreams. Guess it finally caught up with him and a nightmare as a greeting would make it all the more worse."

"What wouldn't he dream?"

"Because sooner or later most of us couldn't dream a single image at all if not remaining hooked to the Dream Machine."

"All have to do with Harvest no doubt. Why hasn't you told you about this? Doesn't he trust you?"

"Being just as conscripted into the Insurrection like him he would. Though I was a last minute hire right in-between Harvest and our capture. He had a problem with last one having decided to be in his new reality. I don't know what happened. The last forger, Matt I think he was, was anti-violent, anti-war, blind supporter that Fred didn't like, but is exactly what was needed at Harvest. Upon return his body was empty of mind. Hasn't you told you that?"

"No he's given just the same version."

"Then I guess he does trust me more than others." Cobb ponders at he realization on where he's at among all people in relation with Frederick.

"Though oddly added about how the Covenant stop feminist movements dead when they found how far we come. Going into the direction of females in the Covenant."

"I don't know. He was there not me. We never see the other side of the Covenant than just the war and their men they sent to fight."

* * *

They say that what ever projections we make of people are literally just projections of what we think of people and they function in the universe.

Maybe she's just projecting that version I fear I'd see of her and it became self-fulfilled prophecy but that infectious doubt. She would only be shade of the full and real her. That true self that I'll never see again.

* * *

A/N: This one I felt more willing to add more than ever. Though I rather skim through this more than I regularly would, I still want enough credibility for it.

Though there are limits. I intend to leave things obscure still.


	8. Tier 3, 2, 1, 0

Ch. 8 Tier 3, 2, 1…0

A/N: Long delay, and I'm one more step away. I would no doubt sound sketchy, or have made the plot sound holy, here but I was going to skim things over anyway, so not concerned with that.

* * *

Tony hasn't been around much. Tourists busy sightseeing everything.

"We're almost there." Tony says. One last day to say in fact. And we used eighty-six percent of our rations and supplies this trip. Though we'll be in the freezers the trip back it's cutting close unless we'd get what we expect; high moralities. "You know I never even gotten to say what I'd offer after the mission."

"I thought this was a 'no-win' scenario."

"I said I'm taking a leap of faith with this, but with all intentions to succeed."

"Yeah about that. This whole mission is only been looking more successful when get more desperate broadening our horizons while not looking at what we actually are capable of. What about the future?"

"This entire mission is about altering the future."

"Just this generation, the elderly who have not long to live anyway. What about the next what's to stop them from rerouting?"

"We'd make sure that we get accepted into the Covenant."

"Certain? Even after being decreed the heretic species for genocide."

"Of course, why even they accepted those idiotic Brutes just within the last century."

"Getting membership doesn't stop us from having to be a part of an insane cult anyway. It'd be a surrender of liberty to say the least. And what about this Great Journey being our destiny?"

"I don't deal in politics, but I do say, that whatever we do they'll have a nicer time in negotiating."

"So it's going to be the biggest compromise humanity has made, and it's outside the human race."

"You'd still get to go home do you? Don't you have a lovely girl to go back to? Or want to find you on such a destined spot like the beach or restaurant?"

_I met her on the open plains, the sky on fire from the evening sun as well as from the fires of war when it all just gotten started. Clouds were promeniently Covenant ships actually. She was among those under a beam of below a Destoryer. I had no idea what the face said or what gender even, but just fueled my curiosity to find out everything about these aliens, them and 'her.'_

"Give me a whole bunch a whores and make them my wives. Then pick my way through to find out which has good enough heartbreak worth remembering. "

* * *

Just like yesterday, I've skimmed through the whole day. I've given command to people of those different fields. My whole knowledge is just fractions from each of them. If all those friends were one person, Cobb, Sid, Karl, Yohan, including the Spartans Eames and Aurthur even, they'd run it better than I.

They have not the experience to penetrate and a alien dream and be an alien body. And that be a good thing. They'll take the Covenant as an enemy nothing else. Not thinking it could be something that could love, feel pain to where, emphasis be damned, even if a hideous mandible face were to shed tears we cry with them.

That reentering the dream reminded me of everything. I guess she never shared the same interest I had of her. I was open, she was the radical, a case that someone would like to change.

* * *

The end of the day still feels unsatisfying when you avoid doing things that displease you.

Ann comes out and speaks fully out. "I have to be honest, we have not been open to you fully."

"I'm taking a look at highly classified information." I grab a folder to suddenly look busy. "I thought I have their trust."

"Well there's something that I haven't opened to you fully. And the more I think about the more I realize how the Covenant's mission could effect and even jeopardize Inception."

"Well, what ever they're doing, we'll do it before they start."

"No, I'm saying you'll have to do during it."

"What? Y-y-you said that it was relic, Covenant worshipping there and stuff, not performing something. Now you're saying this destroyed portal leads to something. I should have known this from the start of the plan."

"Well you said so yourself that the second half of your plan is to find out while we're in there. I'm giving you foreknowledge of that half."

"Please, spare me the suspense. What must you show me?"

"You're about to be shown the most classified Forerunner piece."

"Being in this mission, I'm finding out a lot about human's secrets. "

"Well if you're going to save humanity, you need to know all about it."

"The feeling is always mixed at best they tell you. But I know better than then to hear nihilists who undeserving gets more attention then they should."

Ignoring my statement she continues. "Actually it's not Forerunner to tell you the truth. It was claimed by them."

"Claimed? Why would they need to borrow or steal something, I thought they accomplished everything."

"Everything but trans-sentience. According to their Diagram for intelligence, Forerunners got to Tier One, but these got to Tier Zero."

"Why did they destroy something that could as well be the ultimate accomplishment? If literally going 'poof' -trans-sentience being that it is- is their ultimate destiny."

"They didn't destroy it's the mere fragment they recovered. Based off its trajectory, it came from another galaxy."

She has my intrigue, but feel like throwing a sarcastic rhetoric. "I guess the Covenant will meet their match in due time."

"You ever ask yourself," Ann continuing, "'Why is all this fragmented evidence leading the Covenant to believe that the Forerunners transcended into godliness?'"

"They have high feelings for the superior culture they base everything off of so they choose an all glorious 'departure' so rather than a tragic end. It gives them something to aim for."

"Partly true, but supposed such events did happen previously to one civilization and they fill it in into a fragmented history of another?"

"The prophets mentioned something like this: The Forerunners used something to temporarily pass into heaven mentally while physically bound. They theorized that maybe it was something left behind for the Forerunner and now the Covenant to inspect the galaxy's readiness, everyone's clearness in soul is ready for the Journey.

"But some text I couldn't figure out

Something about fighting demons in the afterlife. Hell attacking heaven like an infectious disease, a plague or a flood. Like a trial to prove godliness. What followed was the last act to turn on devices, disks I think, to commence the Great Journey.

"Something happened to the Forerunners and the same will happen to the Covenant and us in effect."

"'Who' have I not learned yet is in the universe?"

"Someone greater who have like granted reign of the galaxy to the Forerunner only mentioned in secret once by the Prophet of Truth."

"How did you learn that?"

"Snipers, though we can't attack their shielded chairs that doesn't stop us from using snipers to use DRCs to listen."

"Right, right. I've been stuck with this psychological, mental field of technology so much I don't any on weaponry."

"Then how do you fight when you invade?"

"I'm the 'general' of the group, I lead not fight. Anyway was you were saying."

"They believe there's a destiny that's universal because it's literally shaping the course of the universe." Ann is having a bit of a msytified tone added to it. Corny, but still addicting. "That once the universe came into physical being it was to use that material to make something surpassing the current state. You know the energy we create from materials is greater energy than if it was dormant."

"Yes."

"But unlike rocks, trees, balls of gas, we who are sentient already have a central energy source that's beyond their body: spirit. They see that the stars even will die eventually, but they believe that the mind is as infinite, though that infinite that the universe is settled in is the abyss. But rather than be the abyss like what matter decays to, they believe that there's an opposite reached by 'Ultimate' action. So they decide to use all that made existence to something greater. Literally to accomplish that with their philosophy is to take the "Great Bang" and make a greater one."

"Well that's development, evolution, improvement, and gaining more, so much that you starve the universe for that strive if uncontrolled."

"So if anything, they used the entire energy of a galaxy to reach eternity."

She had me lost there.

"Um, let's take a look at the pebble. Not a fragment of that portal but something from where it lead to."

* * *

I'm serious no words could comprehend what she put me 'in.' It doesn't sound like much when a person experienced close death, a light. As wonderful as it sounds, to explain it in words can even be insultingly demeaning to what it truly feels. Though before waking, it suddenly turned abysmal. _Hell for trying to be God?_

My sight returns to feel my heart cold, but my veins elsewhere swollen ready to burst with blood. Then its rerouted back, the heart would of bursted now too.

"Who were they?"

"The Precursors."

I runs my hands deep, digging into the skin as if to massage the skull instead.

"Alright, you've convinced me. I guess holding the key to the universe outweighs a insignificant human's interspecies relationship dilemma."

I have lost her there now this time.

"Now hear me out, the full version of the case on Harvest."

* * *

A/N: There was my daring approach. My own theory of a species of super beings nearly absent from all records of history on how they might of became gods if they had succeed. And a lot I haven't written, not knowing how just cut right to the next scene. Skipping it to avoid revealing my cluelessness on how to convey my own ideas.


	9. The Omega

**Ch. 9 The Omega**

Disclaimer: What a shock, I don't own the HALO franchise or Inception. No, I'm serious, if you ever believed for a single moment, then I guess you're too convinced that fans could own their inspirations.

A/N: I suddenly realized that they were a hand full of characters that I kind of forgotten along the way. I had to look back on so I can successfully give it semi-closure as it closes on the 1st Act. Having them woven together in the end to mean something. In case you were wondering, the reason I put "..." instead of the traditional ruler is to indicate it's the same scene but there was something in between that got 'edited' out. Do I know what was in-between? Honestly, no. Just deliberately say there is more than what I could think of.

I do have one question over what's baffling me. The void of reception. Where is it?

I'm glad to get brief spikes in my hits for a few days, but reviews are more precious than any. Where are they? Don't people think this crossover idea is good enough to just acknowledge it with a simple 'smart idea' in a review? This is not just seeing fandom happen "What if this world met the HALO world?" but putting a high-concept idea that could plausibly be a part of the HALO universe.

* * *

After months of gathering men and equipment and weeks of organizing, solidifying the plan as close as we can, given how little we know for sure of the alien minds and whatever plan they have themselves, we see now that we're closer than ever to have this job be the one that will end all wars.

I, Frederick, feel a internal sense of momentum build up inside the team as a whole. Ready to release this one shot at the Covenant that could defy them.

Speaking of release, it feels good to let out your secrets. It's to often that you try to predict a response and think it not necessary. Either you know it already by your subconscious lecturing itself. _"If you do this mission, rid of their evil intentions, it'll be as if riding hers."_ Is what I predict Ann would say in these circumstances. I've spent years on own with this. What can she conjure up that I haven't?

But the mere interaction, just to say aloud in the presence of another being honestly was wondrous. I'm willing to have all my secret chatter with Ann. Never should one fight for humanity as if it's only his own, everyone needs everyone.

I'm ready.

I look outside through the now open sight-seeing window panes, finally opened after the long trip through slip-space. Hard to believe this is in fact the shortest-cut we can take. Comparing to traveling in real space is frightfully daunting traveling from between specks of dust in the infinite void.

To finally come at last to the next planet, actually quite comforting to be next to a big object than in the midst of emptiness, and to see those stars.

Then a question came into mind. How do we come within range without detection?

I took that exact question to the deck the next minute after.

"How do we come within range without detection?" Eyes glanced at Tony. Is he in control or is the captain? I assume the captain, though the AI Ariadne controls all functions and is with Tony. He just brought us together and gave us a goal was the most he did, only thing he has next to do is keep his end of the bargain. That is if we make it out.

"It'll all come up in a second. See that asteroid belt? Well go stone-cold, turning off 93 percent of the power and float over the spot." This mission would take about half a day, so the remaining crew won't be cold for too long. "Well stay in the outer reaches."

...

Entering with the flow of the revolving belt, we slung around, gradually blending our movement from thrust to floating.

Orbiting the perfect sphere, I see another.

A large mountain? No, a dome. It doesn't possible that such a perfect shape would be geographical mountain. Unless it's made by somebody with the fantastic capabilities, like a Forerunner...or a Precursor.

Wait a minute, that didn't show up in satellite photos. Well that was soon after take-off which was few weeks ago, and they photographed the planet nearly a year ago.

More suspicions rise when I see that it actually had streams of blue lights coming around it. Not naturally made, I can say to that. We have come past the circumference and suddenly it recedes to a cone, a base of a mushroom. Now I remember, from Harvest. _She _came from there...

High Charity.

"Think about it, there are probably as many 500 million inhabiting that thing alone." Aurthur-I491

"And there's a reported estimate of 100 million down on the surface with the High Council." Eames-I528 said. "So where would our dreams take place?"

"Talking about numbers? About the occupation force and invasion force?" AI Ariadne joined in. "There will be 50 of us launching the assualt. Usually you'd wish that the small number would be warships to combat the countless infantry, but sadly it's not the case, just person-against-person combat. So if we times that by the 10 dreams we'll put the 200 targets in before we start selecting. We could deal with 5 billion projections alone on the first level alone."

Aurthur giving a nervous smile. "Nothing has been quite like that."

50 men versus a security force of 5 billion; that has got to be the worst odds ever given for a tactical engagement in real life. For the dream is real.

I take a look at the surface as well. A lot of activity. Looks to me that those estimated 100 million have been busy, seeing seven new objects standing reconstructed.

* * *

The entire infiltration team has gathered into the main haul. I think the idea is to try to muffle this concentration of energy as much as possible. It's going to be a bit of a burst to reach that far and to put to sleep deep enough. Wonder if it's going to be big enough to catch their attention or take it as some combustive impact from two colliding asteroids.

Not since the beginning have I with such intent looked at the faces and their characters. All corners of the mankind's reach in the galaxy, coming from ethnic groups as young as the colonies or as old as human history on Earth, all with one objective. Ages 15 youngest to 64. Still haven't met the squirt or the veteran to know them. I see them now as I seen them then, wondering if their up to the job.

"The form and strength that we are adjusted to will not go away, so don't do anything extra laboring to give it away." Cobb reminds them again. Never break the illusion, especially in front of 5 billion projections.

Exchangers. We could make it anybody, but seeing that our involvement in this it's best we keep it all as consistent as possible.

"Speaking of timing, we got to pin-point when to do it. I suggest we do it after their ceremony and do it when they sleep, so our penetration making them fall into a coma wouldn't look suspicious."

With last-minute-most-vital-information, I knew exactly when. "Do it when they turn it on. Since we are defying them by changing their views of the Forerunners, it would be a plus if we do it in front of everybody. Wouldn't a coma and sudden awakening appear to be a sign, an act of divine intervention?"

"So instead of having the tradition one going under per level, we could do multiple, right?" Karl asked.

"Yes, it'd be better than separate dreams for each, be more of a hassle on the exchanges."

"Can it work if go down different mind, say a prophet and elite?"

_Haven't we gone over this already? Doesn't he know this? _"Yes." I clarified.

"Having all these dream boxes around, is there a probablity that they may be found by the projections?"

_Oh, dear haven't thought about that._ "I don't think a projection's nature is about the other layers of dream but it's own. Since it can't access there anyway, it just do it's job here. But I see where you are going, that they could destroy them still."

I feel dirty all of sudden talking of this. I shared this with others and not feel the same, though he hasn't been the same. What has gotten over his head? He started being total repellent of the idea of working for the other side, now just is fine with it. Never has he been calm until he got things his way. _"I figured he especially has loyalties beyond just his profession."_ I thank Tony for saying that from the beginning.

* * *

We have the bunks brought into the main haul. All neatly placed to form a circle to have all 50 in our party hooked up within a 30 foot radius. You would know the modifications would make it an even bigger Dream Machine, thanks to Yohan and Sid.

"What has Cobb decided for you two to be?"

"What do you think? A scientist."

"I figured we go in as twins." Sid added.

"Well it seems a bit un-stereotypical for a warrior culture to have it's geniuses than it's knights."

"Generalizations are kind of correct and easy but is not the whole spectrum. You can try to round up words say like...love into a simple definition by that ain't all that love is." Yohan explains. _Funny out of all words he choosed 'love.'_

"Twins are just going to make all the more unlikely. Don't you think that exceptional group, even more divergent by twins, is going to make you the center of attention."

Sid spoke for Yohan. "Putting us in their labs and research center, figuring out how much they know about these Forerunners and about us further." I was about to say a word till he continues. "We know that even their access is limited, total control lies in the hands of the Prophets, but their amount of control expresses their paranoia, therefore we can articulate inception more accurate than ever."

Amazing by how they were antagonized that one is the brilliant chemist compared to the other. This could work, even if we counter them face-to-face sounds good.

...

Some attractive woman from the Bridge, approaches to me specifically. Leading Communications Officer, whom I swear is being sick of being nicknamed Uhura, not getting the joke.

"Sir, before you go. I need to tell you, there's someone extra they're bringing in."

"Don't worry. The Councilors and the Prophets will have the Honor Gaurd, but we are not gonna put them under."

"They brought another for…a demonstration of sorts. I thought it'd be necessary to mention her as being part of the scheme."

_Demonstration?_ I never figured they bring a subject for a demonstration. They know exactly what they plan to do. Although the populace of the Covenant is always shrouded from a lot sensitive convictions and dogmas, they must be acting like it is something else.

"Alright I'll see."

* * *

_Her!_

"What's it for?"

"The Prophets are mentioning this individual is a mental case unlike any other and this relic is going to cleanse her mind from what the humans did."

She's being dragged around, put up in front of thousands. Should I feel sorry, like back in the time we weirdly tried to become acquainted with each other on Reach? Should I feel avenged, that once the hierarchies announced our fate she blindly followed and forgets everything?

She was my love in the short time we had, later my enemy, now their enemy. Do I do this in hopes of riding her manifestation or now do I save her? Why save her? Was that really love, or just the thrill of interacting sentience in a different form, in those few weeks between contact and war?

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen, beings of humanity..." Tony pauses. "Alright saying 'beings of humanity' made it cheesy. I don't like taking things serious and make it melodrama, but it's true, we are all here; just a hand full of people trekking the most perilous territory, infiltrating through infinite minds filled with countless occupants, to save billions. Impossible to win it sounds, we probably know all along." Gazes at Frederick. "But we must try everything when we will lose everything if we don't."

I'm hardly paying attention to this but discussing with Ann that _she's_ back and _she'll_ be in with us.

Tony continues. "The Covenant call this operation OMEGA, Latin for 'end.' We'll make this an end, alright."

All of us lay on our circle-formatted beds. None of us need any bags, supplies, weapons or armor. We just fall asleep and _*poof*_ it'll all be there.

"You know you don't need your armor or weapons on here. Your mind is going, but not your body." Sid says to our Spartans.

"And you do know that us Spartans are trained to be alert as if any second could be the opening bang to combat." Eames-I528 says while still struggling to get comfortable with his MJOLNIR as if they were his PJs. "So, Omega they call it? You mean like Alpha and Omega?"

"Yeah, 'The End,' I know that." Aurthur-I491 replies.

A.I. Ariadne appears in her explanatory attitude, most prominent in A.I.s. "'Alpha and Omega' coming from old Christian text that God and his son Jesus are the 'beginning and the end' of the universe."

"They are not seriously going to put an end to the universe, are they?" Spoke Yohan as he puts the sedative into the Box.

"No." Ann says, only so I would hear next to her. "But with that power they can infiltrate all the sentient mind and have the power to destroy a whole star system."

Sid and Yohan have the Box set, are the last ones to get into bed. Tony has the honors to push the button.

This is it. Who the Hell knows what is in store?

The feeling of both the end and _her_…no possible word.

….Sleep.

Dream…

* * *

**END ACT ONE  
**

* * *

A/N: I'm sorry, but this is all you'll ever get. Want more, see problems that need fixing, plot holes that need to be explained? No, I've got too many things in my mind. And I can't waste time on the next idea that randomly pops in my mind. Inception just played inception on me.

I've gone through too much trouble to make it really that well readable as it is. I thought I get it done in just a month, not four. I wanted to get through quick enough to get it out of my mind with minimum detail, but since this is it, I made myself cherish it and go the whole way in depth this final chapter.

Anybody want to take over even? Be my guest. PM me and I'll aid you in what ever way, just so long as I'm credited original writer.

I say again, I'm frustrated by the lack of reception that this gotten, but I wouldn't call it a total waste. At least I get to exercise a bit.


End file.
